I am a MV owner but looking to add a bike to the pile. Im looking at a Ducati MH900E. Does anyone have anything interesting to say about this bike? Its the Mike Hailwood replica bike. I just dont know about buying a Duc.

-- Brian (brianbriguy187@msn.com), November 30, 2004

Answers

If your going for a MH Rep why not consider one of the originals, they are much nicer to look at and appreciate in value too. Or you could go for the Honda 6, I understand the last of the 6 replicas is still looking for an owner, you'll need to set asside a 1/4 of a million though. Insurance may be a tad on the high side though. Personally I think I'd look for something along the lines of a classic MV, a Magni perhaps.

-- Mark M (m.magenis@btinternet.com), November 30, 2004.

Lets see Brian,fake sump assembly housing the electrics!!,a fuel tank that holds about 12 litres,a number of them languishing in dealers show rooms second hand for years.A classic case of form over function.A true piece of shit,what were ducati thinking?

-- philip costin (pcostin@bigpond.net.au), November 30, 2004.

Check out the following site: http://www.ducatiowners.com/mh900e/ Many of the owners seem to be very happy. Many sell for around $11,000. I do not think the price will be droping much more and should go up considering there were only 2000 made.

-- Christopher Reeves (megatrack30@hotmail.com), November 30, 2004.

I'd love to have one. There's a cool one on ebay right now. I'd probably rather have a stock one tho'.

-- Tim (twsds@farmerstel.com), November 30, 2004.

They already have dropped considerably in value compared to what they cost new. They will bottom out in the $9-10k range IMO. Look at the Superlight bikes or the '98 900FE, even those have dropped in value from new and they didn't make as many of them either.

The MH900e is pretty cool to look at, just don't buy it expecting to double your money in the next 10 years.

I don't see any Ducati made in the last 10 years being the type of bikes that rapidly appreciate in value. Even bikes like the 996R, 998R or 999R were made in large quantities. All of them are worth less now than they were new.

-- S.Burns (sjb509@umr.edu), November 30, 2004.

Look for the pre-TPG stuff for collectables. The 916SP's, & SPS's are very desirable if you can find one. What you want is a '96 916SP3. Try finding one of those in the classifieds or on ebay :-) The last of the 888's ('93 & '94) are neat too. Personally, I think the MHE is about the only interesting thing to happen at Ducati since Tamburini left....

-- Tim (twsds@farmerstel.com), November 30, 2004.

Don't buy it. If you want a modern Ducati, but a 916 Senna! Regards, Chris. MV (4) and Ducati (3) owner.

-- Chris Mullan (chrismullan@ihug.co.nz), December 07, 2004.

I have had my mhe for 3 years. I ride it. Its desmo, its dry clutch and the trailing arm is sculpture.... plenty of Duc heritage. I wouldn't think of selling. Its not right for everybody but neither is an MV. Before I bought it I was asked, "Are you looking for a date or marriage?" That puts it pretty well because there are things like the fuel capacity and the difficult mirrors that get to me. You'll be making your own choice but, be sure you find one to try on. I'm lucky, my 6'2" fits really well. The Ducati e-store mirrors help the rear view and the owners group is A#1.

-- jeff tillotson (jeff@fsft.com), December 11, 2004.

I just bought an MH900e. Its beautiful and fun to ride. Fun when you ride it, sculpture when you don't.

Gary H.

-- Gary Hecker (ghecker@hh.com), December 15, 2004.